Amazon.com bans deadly paint strippers, signaling growing trend in retail sector

Amazon.com posted a new policy prohibiting the sale of the toxic chemicals methylene chloride and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) in all paint stripper products it sells, effective March 2019. The company is the eleventh major retailer to ban these chemicals since May, joining Lowe’s, Sherwin-Williams, The Home Depot, Walmart, True Value, PPG Paints, AutoZone, Kelly-Moore Paints, Canadian Tire, and Home Hardware. Methylene chloride and NMP have been found to pose unacceptable health risks to the public, including cancer, harm to the nervous system and childhood development, and death.

“We applaud Amazon for prohibiting the sale of these harmful products,” said Mike Schade, Mind the Store campaign director of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families. “While Amazon, Lowe’s and other retailers have stepped up, the EPA has dragged its feet and consumers have suffered. The time for EPA inaction is over.  How many more people have to die before the Trump EPA finalizes this long-delayed ban?”

Amazon’s new commitment follows the release of the new chemicals policy it launched in October. The policy restricts phthalates and dozens of other toxic chemicals in its private brand baby, household cleaning, personal care, and beauty products in the United States. The company and 39 other top retailers were recently evaluated in the third annual Who’s Minding the Store? retailer report card.

CONTINUE ON www.saferchemicals.org